mamalis1997

Composite Structures 37 (1997) 109-134
0 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd

Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved
0263-8223/97/%17.00
ELSEVIER PII:SO263-8223(96)00013-S
Review
Crashworthy capability of composite material

structures
A. G MamalisP* M. Robinson,’ D. E. ManolakosP G. A. DemosthenousP M. B. Ioannidis” &
J. Carruthersb
“Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, 42, 28th October Avenue,
106 82 Athens, Greece
hAdvanced Railway Research Centre, Sheffield, UK
Considerable research interest has been directed towards the use of

composite materials for crashworthiness applications, because they can be
designed to provide impact energy absorption capabilities which are
superior to those of metals when compared on a weight basis. This review
draws together information from a variety of sources to compare the
findings of researchers in this field.
The anisotropy of composite materials means that there are a great
number of variables controlling mechanical behaviour and much of the
investigative experimental work conducted in this area has concentrated on
composite tubular specimens. The material, geometrical and experimental
factors which have been shown to affect the energy absorption capability of
such samples are related and a comparison is made of some of the specific
energy absorption values which have been quoted in the literature.
A selection of methods for predicting composite material energy absorp-
tion capability is presented and consideration is given to some of the more
practical aspects of employing composite materials for crashworthiness
purposes. 0 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.
NOTATION Lc length of central crack

A4 bending moment
b angle of axial splits N parameter of crushing modes
0”’ outside bottom diameter of circular n number of lamina bundles
frustum * number of axial splits
d outside top diameter of circular frustum ; current crushing load
& frustum diameter at crack tip P mean post-crushing load
E Young’s modulus P max peak load
G internal dimension of tube P S”S sustained load
G* fracture toughness R ad adhesive energy per unit area of layers
I inertia moment r radius of curvature of the frond
K foundation stiffness S displacement
k constant t wall thickness of circular frustum
L length of lamina bundle V crushing speed
L* axial length of shell W energy absorbed
WT total energy dissipated
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. or angle of pulverized wedge
109
110 A. G. Mamalis et al.
failure strain event of a collision. Generally, the total energy

: semi-apical angle of circular frustum dissipated depends on the governing deforma-
p friction coefficient tion phenomena of all or part of the structural
(JO tensile fracture stress components of simple geometry, such as thin-
walled tubes, cones, frames and sections. The
energy absorbing capacity differs from one com-
INTRODUCTION ponent to the next in a manner which depends
on the mode of deformation involved and the
Vehicle crashworthiness has been improving in material used.
recent years with attention mainly directed During the last decade the attention given to
towards reducing the impact of the crash on the crashworthiness and crash energy management
passengers. Effort has been made in experi- has been centred on composite structures. The
mental research and in establishing safe main advantages of fibre reinforced composite
theoretical design criteria for the mechanics of materials over more conventional isotropic
crumpling, providing the engineers with the materials, however, are the very high specific
ability to design vehicle structures so that the strengths and specific stiffnesses which can be
maximum amount of energy will dissipate while achieved. Moreover, with composites, the
the material surrounding the passenger com- designer can vary the type of fibre, matrix and
partment is deformed, thus protecting the fibre orientation to produce composites with
people inside. improved material properties. Besides the pers-
The improvement of structural crashworthi- pective of reduced weight, design flexibility and
ness must be accomplished within certain low fabrication costs composite materials offer
constraints, such as limits on force transmission a considerable potential for lightweight energy
and/or deformation. The mechanisms for absorbing structures; these facts attract the
improving vehicular resistance will depend on attention of the automotive and aircraft
the nature of the imposed limitations. If only industry owing to the increased use of compo-
small deformations are permitted, then large site materials in various applications, such as
amounts of momentum transfer and force levels frame rails used in the apron construction of a
to the occupant must be expected, which may car body and the subfloor of an aircraft, replac-
be unacceptable. Conversely, if large permanent ing the conventional materials used.
deflections are tolerable, a limit can be set on Previous investigations indicated that compo-
the magnitude of the force experienced by the site shells deform in a manner different to
occupant provided that the crush of the capsule similar structural components made of conven-
still retains a minimum volume for survival. An tional materials, i.e. metals/polymers, since
optimal way that this can be achieved is by microfailure modes, such as matrix cracking,
exclusive use of frame deformation, including delamination, fibre breakage etc., constitute the
applications of specific energy absorbing devices main failure modes of these collapsed struc-
such as strategically placed tubular elements. tures. Therefore, this complex fracture
However, vehicle impact processes are very mechanism renders difficulties to theoretically
complex events where the simultaneous struc- model the collapse behaviour of fibre-reinforced
tural response of many different interacting composite shells.
units renders their behaviour only rarely suscep- Extensive research work has been performed
tible to the usual detailed analysis associated primarily on axial loading and bending of
with a single component. Many features of simple thin-walled composite structures. The
these processes need to be approached in a effect of specimen geometry on the energy
primitive or elementary manner, often making absorption capability was investigated by vary-
use of ordinarily reported events. Many of the ing the cross-sectional dimensions, wall
mechanical devices and elements, made of met- thickness and length of the shell. The effect of
als, polymers and composite materials, are the type of composite material, laminate design,
designed to absorb impact energy under axial loading method and strain-rate on the crash-
crushing, bending and/or combined loading. An worthy behaviour of the components was also
important requirement is that these structural studied. Enviromental effects related to crash
members must be able to dissipate large characteristics of composites have also been
amounts of energy by controlled collapse in the investigated.
Crashworthycapability of composite material structures: A review 111
ENERGY ABSORPTION CAPABILITY appears to affect the loading stability, as well as

the magnitude of the crush load and the energy
Definition absorption during the crushing process; shells
which collapse in a stable, progressive and con-
Most of the studies to examine the energy trolled manner can dissipate a large amount of
absorbing capabilities of composite materials energy. The post-crushing region of the load/
have been directed towards the axial crush displacement curve is characterized by high
analysis of composite thin-walled structural serrations due to the crush energy of the com-
components, because the axial crush mode posite material being absorbed by a sequence of
represents more or less the most efficient different microcracking processes characterizing
design. However, impacted structures quite each case of collapse. The main feature of a
often fail in a mode associated mainly with curve of a statically loaded shell in the post-
bending. Therefore, an understanding of the crushing region is the characteristic oscillation
bending crush behaviour of thin-walled compo- about a mean post-crushing load, P, accom-
site shells is also necessary and important. panied by shallow serrations contrariwise to the
The static axial collapse tests can be carried corresponding dynamic one which are charac-
out between the parallel steel platens of a terized by successive severe fluctuations with
hydraulic press at very low crosshead speed troughs and peaks probably due to the different
whilst the corresponding dynamic ones can be microfracturing mechanism.
performed by a direct impact using a drop- In general, the energy absorption capability
hammer or an impactor. In an axial loading test of an axially loaded shell of a given material is
the energy absorbed by the collapsed specimen quantified by the specific energy absorption, W,.
during the crushing process is calculated by This is defined as the ratio of the energy absor-
measuring the area under the corresponding bed, W for the collapsed specimen, see Fig. 1,
load, P/shell shortening (displacement), s curve, per unit mass crushed, m,, calculated as the
see Fig. 1. Initially the shell behaves elastically crushed volume, v, times the material density,
and the load rises at a steady rate to a peak P*
value, P,,, and then drops abruptly; the magni- The bending tests of thin-walled shells can be
tude of the peak load is greatly affected by the performed using three- or four-point loading. A
shell geometry and the material characteristics. different method proposed by Mamalis et al.
As deformation progresses the shape of the [2,3] can be also used, see the detailed descrip-
load-displacement curve depends on the mode tion below. The energy absorbing capability of
of collapse and the loading conditions. For thin- the shell is calculated in every case by measur-
walled composite shells subjected to axial ing the area under the corresponding bending
collapse the fracture behaviour of the shell moment, Wangle of rotation, 19curve, see Fig.
2. During the bending process, the shell initially
300
deforms elastically and the M/8 curve is charac-
terized by a sharp, steady-state increase of the
bending moment until a maximum value, A!,,,
is attained and cracking occurs. The post-crush-
s-
ing regime follows and it is characterized by
s- 200
a deep collapse, where the initially developed
$ transverse crack spreads gradually or rapidly
0
over the whole cross section of the shell.
.-F
r
2 100
Factors affecting the energy absorption
c
capability
\ I sp. 15
“.Q--_ The findings of the extesive research work
0 20 40
_J
60
which has been carried out pertaining to the
Displacement, s (mm)
axial collapse and bending of thin-walled struc-
Fig. 1. Load-displacement curves for hourglass rail shells
tural components have demonstrated that there
subjected to static and dynamic loading for various col- are several variables which may control the
lapse modes [l]. energy absorption capability of composite
112 A. G. Mama& et al.
3000 0.40
K
I- 0.30 /
t 2000 0.
E
;
t
s.
b
/(
a* 0
iz
: 0.20
IF
n 1000 2 /
;; .*
s
m al
‘\ =
A
2 /
: 0.10 :
Ok _-- /
0” 5" 10" 15" 20"
Angle of rotation i
Fig. 2. Bending moment/angle of rotation characteristics L/ ,

0 0.01 0.02 0.03
for rail beams [4].
Tensile strain E
Fig. 3. Tensile stress/strain curves for two different com-
posite materials [5].
materials, the principal ones of which are listed
here.
(a) Materials
The composite material components (fibres
and matrix), as well as the laminate design
For the analysis and finally the design of a
(fibre orientation), greatly affect the crashwor-
structure subjected to loading it is necessary to
thy capacity of structures made of composite
be done primarily the experimental characteris-
material. Fibre content, diameter and length,
ation of the material used. Experimental
matrix mechanical properties, as well as the
characterization refers to the determination of
fibre distribution in the laminate, have a signifi-
the material properties through tests conducted
cant influence on the energy absorption
on suitably designed specimens, Understanding
capability of thin-walled composite shells sub-
the material response over the entire range of
jected to axial loading. Moreover, the
loads is necessary, if advanced design pro-
temperature has an important effect on
cedures are employed for efficient material
material properties with an obvious affecting on
utilization. In the case of composite materials it
the material crashworthy response. The most
may be desirable to begin the design with con-
important remarks of the research work that
stitutent material properties and arrive at the
has been done in this topic are reported below.
composite macromechanical properties through
micromechanics analysis. Stress-strain curves as
obtained from quasi-static tension tests for two Fibre and matrix materials
different composite materials designated as The majority of previous studies have concen-
material A and B respectively, are shown in Fig. trated on composites involving fibres of carbon,
3; material A is a polyester/fibreglass composite glass or aramid in a thermosetting resin such as
material with random fibre orientation and epoxy. Thornton [7], Farley [8], Schmueser and
material B is a commercial vinylester/fibreglass Wickliffe [9] and Farley and Jones [lo-131 all
composite material with nine plies mainly ori- report that in tests conducted on comparable
ented in 0” and 90”, see Ref. [6] for more specimens, carbon-epoxy tubes generally absor-
details. High strain rate or impact loads may be bed more energy than glass-epoxy or
expected in many of the engineering applica- aramid-epoxy specimens. Hybrid composite
tions of composite materials. The suitability of a specimens have been investigated in an attempt
composite for such applications is, therefore, to combine the best energy absorption charac-
determined not only by the usual design param- teristics of different fibres into a single
eters, but by its impact or energy-absorbing composite material. For example, it might be
properties. desirable to combine the post-crushing integrity
of aramid with the high specific energy absorp- region. Farley [8] reports that energy absorption
tion of carbon. However, Farley [8] reports that capability tends to vary with ply orientation.
the energy absorption capabilities of a selection Considerable variations in energy absorption
of hybrid specimens were not significantly better capability were observed in quasi-static tests on
than those of single-fibre type with the same ply [OI+ e] carbon-epoxy circular tubes for
orientation. Furthermore, Thornton and 0” < 0 < 45” with energy absorption decreasing as
Edwards [14] reports that the presence of 0 increased. Smaller variations in energy
aramid in glass-aramid and carbon-aramid absorption capability were also observed in
hybrids leads to unstable collapse by folding [O/) 0] aramid-epoxy and [O/f e] glass-epoxy
which would not have otherwise occurred had circular tubes for 45” < 8 <90”, with specific
the samples been composed of glass or carbon energy absorption generally increasing with
fibres alone. Farley [15] reports that the energy increasing 8. These findings are broadly sup-
absorption capability of circular carbon-epoxy ported by Kindervater [20]. Schmueser and
tubes is greatly dependent on the strain at Wickliffe [9] also report variations in specific
failure of both the fibre and the matrix. Of the energy absorption with ply orientation, although
material systems tested, that with the higher the nature of the variation differs from that
strain at failure exhibited the superior energy described by Farley. They report that the
absorption capability. Furthermore, it is sug- specific energy absorption of carbon-epoxy,
gested that to obtain maximum energy glass-epoxy and aramid-epoxy [O,/ f 01 speci-
absorption from a particular fibre, the matrix mens all generally increase with increasing 8.
material in the composite must have a higher However, Schmueser and Wickliffe’s tests
strain at failure than the fibre. appear to differ from those of Farley’s in that
New fibre and matrix materials continued to they were dynamic tests conducted in a drop
be employed in attempts to obtain ever higher tower and, unlike Farley, they did not appear to
values for specific energy absorption. Reference have used a collapsed trigger mechanism (see
[16] reports on a Dyneema PE fibre/carbon later) to initiate stable high energy collapse.
fibre hybrid composite tube which showed a Mamalis et al. [5,6] in extensive experimental
high specific energy absorption. Even more work on the axial collapse of thin-walled circu-
impressively, Hamada et al. [17] describe the lar and square tubes made of two different
use of a thermoplastic polyetheretherketone materials, report that specimens made of a
(PEEK) matrix with a carbon fibre which gave commercial glass fibre and vinylester composite
an exceptionally high specific energy absorption material which consisted of nine plies that were
value of 180 kJ/kg (at least double the value of laid up in the sequence [(90/O/2&)/(2&/
carbon-epoxy). This is attributed to the PEEK 0~9w~c.751, show better energy absorbing
matrix offering a high resistance to crack characteristics than those made of a fibreglass
growth between the fibres, preventing failure by composite material in which the glass fibres
this mode until the onset of stable progressive were in the form of chopped-strand mat with
crushing. However, according to Gosnell [18], random fibre orientation in the plane of the
the cost of thermoplastic resins and prepregs is mat. Furthermore, Mamalis et al. [l] report that
relatively high in comparison to thermosets and the existence of extra ( - + -45”) plies in the
Nilson [19] notes that, in processing PEEK one central regions of the hourglass cross-section
can encounter high pressures and temperatures shells with the sequence [(90/0/2I?,)/(2&/
and difficulty with fibre wet-out. Nilson also 0/90)/R,.,,] has a great affect on their energy
reports there are still many aspects of PEEK to absorbing behaviour causing a decrease on the
be fully investigated including notch sensitivity, specific energy absorbed.
the strength of bonded and botled joints, the
effect of temperature on stiffness and aspects of Temperature
fatigue. [ 191 Elevated temperatures affect the crush charac-
teristics of composites primarily through
Laminate design changes in resin properties. Thornton [7]
Thornton and Edwards [14] report that cohere reports that the specific energy absorption of
tubes with a (45/45), lay-up developed consist- carbon and glass composite tubes generally
ently lower values of specific energy than tubes decreases quite substantially with increasing
with (O/90), lay-ups, in the stable collapse temperature above -0°C see Fig. 4.
114 A. G. Mamaliset al.
tion. Mamalis et al. [2] in an investigation

100
r l Graphite
concerning the static axial loading of glass
o Glass polyester circular tubes used the tube wall slen-
derness ratio, t/D, (t is the wall thickness and D
the mean diameter of the tube) as a parameter
to examine the variation of the total energy
absorbed, I+‘, indicating that the energy absor-
bed increases with increasing t/D.
To approach the square-wave type of load/
displacement response, it is necessary to ensure
that neither brittle fracture nor any form of
01 buckling instability can occur. It has been estab-
-200 -100 0 100 200 300 lished that this cannot be acheived with tubes
Temperature, (“C) having square ends, and a trigger mechanism
Fig. 4. The temperature dependence of specific energy must therefore be used to promote some form
absorption for graphite and glass composite tubes [7]. of progressive deformation. Farley [8] reports
that modifying one end of the tube, e.g. by
(b) Structural geometry introducing a chamfer, can greatly reduce the
Extensive analytical work was performed by a peak load experienced by the specimen without
great number of researchers pertaining to the affecting the sustained crushing load, see Fig. 5.
crashworthy behaviour of fibreglass composite Tulip type triggers have also been shown to per-
thin-walled structural components of various form well. Triggering is less important in
geometries. The effect of specimen geometry on aramid composite tubes because they tend to
the energy absorption capability was investi- fail by local buckling in a similar manner to
gated by varying the various geometric metals such as aluminium.
parameters of the shells such as wall thickness,
t, axial length, L, mean diameter, D, or circum- Square/rectangular tubes
ference, C, and semi-apical angle, 8 in the case Thornton and Edwards [14] report that the
of frusta. Moreover, the trigger mechanism square and rectangular cross-section tubes are
used was also investigated to indicate the effect generally less effective at absorption energy
on the shell energy absorbing capacity. than circular ones. These findings are also sup-
ported by Mamalis et al. [22,5] and Kindervater
Circular tubes [20] who report that square and rectangular
Farley [21] reports that energy absorption cap- cross-sectioned tubes have, respectively, 0.8 and
ability is a non-linear function of diameter to 0.5 times the specific energy absorption of com-
thickness, D/t, ratio for [ &45], carbon-epoxy parable circular specimens. The reason for the
and aramid-epoxy circular tubes. Energy
absorption was found to fall as D/t increases.
This finding is also supported by Farley and
Jones [13]. Furthermore, Farley [21] reports
that the carbon-epoxy specimens exhibited dif-
ferent non-linear dependencies on D/t for
specimens of different internal diameters. The
aramid-epoxy specimens of all diameters
exhibited no such diametrical dependence. This
implies that aramid-epoxy tube specimens can
be geometrically scaled for energy absorption
whilst carbon-epoxy tubes cannot. Thornton
and Edwards [14] report that critical values of
relative density (a quadratic function of thick-
ness to diameter ratio) can be identified above Deflection
which (in the case of carbon and glass FRP
Fig. 5. The effect of a collapse trigger mechanism (in this
tubes) or below which (for aramid FRP tubes) case a bevelled and slotted end) on the load-deflection
stable collapse occurs with high energy absorp- response of a composite tube [5].
lower specific energy absorption of square and supports the findings of an earlier paper con-
rectangular sections is generally attributed to cerning circular frusta, Mamalis et al. [26,27], in
the fact that the corners act as stress concentra- which a transition point between stable and
tions leading to the formation of splitting unstable collapse due to the effect of semi-
cracks. This tends to result in unstable collapse apical angle is identified as laying between 15
with low energy absorption. Furthermore, and 20 degrees. Furthermore, they make the
Mamalis et al. [5] report that the axial length of observation that, contrary to what is commonly
square tubes subjected to axial loading and col- experienced with the collapse of cylindrical
lapsing in a stable manner does not affect their tubes, conical specimens do not require a col-
crashworthy capability. lapse trigger mechanism to avoid initial
Czaplicki et al. [23] report that the energy catastrophic failure. Mamalis et al. [25] also
absorbed by tulip triggered specimens was signi- report that the crashworthy characteristics of
ficantly higher than for bevel triggered ones of square frusta axially loaded underestimate the
the same geometry and material. In addition, corresponded ones concerning circular frusta
the crushing was more controlled and predict- due to the same reason mentioned above
able with the tulip trigger. explaining the less crashworthy capability of
square tubes than circular ones.
Conical shells
Mamalis et al. [24,25] report the general trend Other geometries
that specific energy absorption decreases as the A non-conventional hourglass cross-section
semi-apical angle of the frusta increases. This automotive frame rail, see Fig. 6(a), made of a
(4
+32---d k-204
-.- -.-._.-.-._ I-.- -._._ _ _._ _.wWeakaxis
4 138p_1
[(R,,,,)/(90/0/2R,)/(2R,/0/90)]
lb)
15 cm
Section A-A
Fig. 6. (a) Cross-section of a rail beam [28]; (b) Cross-section of a ‘near-elliptical’ shell [13].
glass fibre/vinylester composite material has Energy absorption dependence on crushing

been designed for use in the apron construction speed is related to the mechanism which con-
of the car body. The crashworthy behaviour of trols the crushing process; if the mechanism is a
this structural component in axial collapse has function of strain-rate then the energy absorp-
been studied by Mamalis et al. [5]. tion of the tube will be a function of crushing
In this work it is reported that the specific speed. In general, strain-rate and, therefore,
energy of the progressively collapsed specimens crushing speed may influence the mechanical
seems to be almost constant as the geometry properties of the fibre and the matrix of the
factor thickness/axial length, t/L* of the shell composite material. Moreover, the friction
increases supporting the remark that for a con- coefficients between the various sliding surfaces
stant thickness of the shell, its axial length has during the crushing process may be influenced
no significant effect on its energy absorbing cap- by changes in crushing speed.
ability. Furthermore, it is also reported that Farley [31] reports that matrix stiffness and
hourglass sections developed higher values of failure strain can be a function of strain-rate
specific energy than square tubes made of the and, therefore, the energy absorption associated
same material and loaded under the same with interlaminar crack growth may be con-
conditions. sidered as a function of crushing speed, whilst
Farley and Jones [13] describe the effect of the mechanical properties of brittle fibres are
reducing the included angle of ‘near-elliptical’ generally insensitive to strain-rate and, there-
carbon-epoxy tubes on their energy absorption fore, the fracturing of the lamina bundles
capability, see Fig. 6(b). As can be seen, the generally is not a function of crushing speed. In
tubes actually consist of two identical parts of a this paper Farley also dealt with the axial load-
circular tube where the centres of curvature of ing of circular tubes, reporting that the energy
the two parts are not coincident. The greater absorption capability of the tested tubes is influ-
the distance between the two centres, the enced by crushing speed. Specimens were
smaller the included angle. To facilitate fabrica- crushed at constant crushing speeds of between
tion and minimise fibre damage at the ends of 0.01 m/s and 12 m/s; [ f 01, carbon-epoxy speci-
the major axis, a 0.15 cm radius was incor- mens were found to be a weak function of
porated. For both material systems, the energy crushing speed with an increase in energy
absorption capability increased as the included absorption of as much as 35% (depending on
angle decreased, i.e. the energy absorption cap- ply orientation) over the speed range tested.
ability increased as the tubes became ‘more’ Furthermore, all aramid-epoxy specimens
elliptical. As the included angle was reduced tested were found to be a function of crushing
from 180” (circular) to 90”, the energy absorp- speed with energy absorption increasing
tion capability increased by between 10 and between 20% and 45%. However, the [O/-L-01,
30%. This is attributed to an increased percent- carbon-epoxy tubes were not found to be a
age of material at the ends of the major axis function of crushing speed. From the remarks
where there is a locally reduced diameter to pointed out at the beginning of this paragraph
thickness ratio and, hence, increased energy concerning the governing mechanism which
absorption capability. The crushing mode near controls the crushing process, it may be
the ends of the major axis was predominantly assumed that with the [O/k 81, carbon-epoxy
high energy absorption brittle fracturing, whilst specimens, the fibre (whose mechanical proper-
that away from these regions was mainly lower ties are not a function of strain-rate) controls
energy absorption lamina bending. the crushing process, whilst with the [k 01, car-
bon epoxy-tubes, the matrix (whose mechanical
(c) Loading properties are a function of strain-rate) is the
primary influence.
Axial loading Mamalis et al. [22,24,25] report that friction
The influence of strain-rate on the energy mechanisms which are developed between the
absorbing capacity of composite shells subjected composite material and the crushing surface
to axial loading was investigated by many and between the various ‘new’ surfaces which
researchers. Significant experimental work has have formed after interlaminar crack growth
been carried out on static and dynamic crush- (adjacent lamina bundles), are also affected by
ing, but conflicting results were produced. the strain-rate. Furthermore, they report that
Crashworthycapability of composite materialstructures:A review 117
the crashworhiness results during dynamic axial Bending

collapse are lower than the static ones for thin- A literature survey shows that very little work
walled fibreglass/polyester circular and square has been reported on the collapse of composite
tubes and frusta. Kirch and Jannie [33], based thin-walled tubular components made of com-
on a test series of glass polyester tubes of posite material due to bending. Mamalis et al.
various section geometries impacted under a [3,32,28] report on the bending of thin walled
drop-hammer at a speed of 13 m/s, show that fibre-reinforced glass vinylester and polyester
the strain-rate effect on the specific energy is composite tubes of various geometries under
essentially one. Schmueser and Wickliffe [9], in certain end-clamping conditions, simulating the
a similar work on [02/ + 01, circular tubes made oblique collision of structural elements of
of epoxy resin and graphite, glass and Kevlar impacted vehicles. The test series was per-
fibre, respectively, indicate that the dynamic formed in a self-made experimental set-up. The
specific energy is lower than the static energy specimen was suitably clamped at one end and
for all three types of composite material supported at a point close to its opposite end,
examined. To the contrary, Mamalis et al. whilst the torque required for tube bending was
[1,5,29] report that dynamic collapse overesti- supplied by a speed reducer driven by an elec-
mates static collapse by about 20% as far as the tric motor. Reference [3], examining the
crashworthy characteristics of fibreglass/vinyles- bending of circular composite tubes, reports
ter composite shells of various geometries is that the region of the test specimen under ten-
concerned, probably due to higher values of the sion exhibited different fracture characteristics
dynamic friction coefficients. Similar observa- to that under compression. Furthermore, the
tions are reported by Berry and Hull [34] with tube clamping mechanism was found to greatly
the specific energy increasing with increasing affect the amount of energy absorbed. The
loading rate, up to 8.5 m/s for the [O/90], insertion of a plug at the clamped end was
graphite/epoxy and [O/90], glass/epoxy compo- found to reduce energy dissipation due to short-
sites. Different remarks are reported by ening of the post crushing regime, whilst
Thornton [35], where the specific energy of the clamping devices with rounded edges tended to
[0,/k 01, graphite/epoxy composite is not a delay crack development and propagation
function of the crushing speed, whilst the [ rt Q], resulting in generally higher bending moments
graphite/epoxy composites exhibit an increase and energy absorption. Both the insertion of
up to 30% at 12 m/s; energy absorption plugs and the use of rounded clamping devices
increases between 20% and 45% for both was found to increase the peak bending
]O*/* 612 and [ k 61, kevlar/epoxy composites. moment exhibited by the specimens.
Kindervater [20] suggests that the effect of Reference [32] extended the above study to
crushing speed on energy absorption will vary the bending of square and rectangular cross-
depending on the particular material system sectioned tubes. The peak bending moment and
used. Carbon-epoxy tubes showed as much as a the energy absorption of both square and rect-
20% degradation in energy absorption cap- angular composite tubes were found to increase
ability under impact loading of up to 9 m/s, with increasing wall thickness, with the rect-
whilst high performance polyethylene fibre angular specimens exhibiting the better energy
Dyneema SK60 in an epoxy matrix and carbon absorption when bent over their strong axes. In
fibres embedded in a thermoplastic polyamid general, rectangular tubes were found to show
matrix showed increases of approaching 50%. better crashworthy characteristics for large
There is the possibility that in real structures deformations under bending than circular tubes
the mode of failure may be very different in of comparable dimensions. This was attributed
static and dynamic instances. Savage [36] to the deformations undergone at the corners of
reports that in quasi-static tests conducted on the tube and the increased tube strength under
the composite nose cone of a Formula One rac- bending.
ing car, the failure machanism was one of global Reference [28] moved away from the bending
buckling of the composite skins rather than the of tubes with simple geometrical cross-sections
progressive crushing and high energy absorption to a much more complex hourglass shape simi-
associated with dynamic impact of the cone. lar to that described in previous paragraph and
Care should, therefore, be exercised when using depicted. in Fig. 6(a). As mentioned above this
static test data to predict dynamic behaviour. structure had been designed for use in the
A. G. Mamalis et al.
apron location of a car body to provide a high difference being largest at high angles of inclin-
degree of crashworthiness. The effect on energy ation and that the energy absorbed generally is
absorption of plug inserts at both clamped and less in off-axis than in angled loading.
free ends of the tube was examined and, in
contrast to the case for the circular tubes
Failure mechanisms/mechanical response
described above, the plugs were found to have a
positive effect in lengthening the post-buckling
(a) Macroscopic collapse modes
region and were not found to affect the peak
bending moment. Just as for the rectangular
tubes described in Ref. [32], bending over the Axial loading
strong axis of the beam resulted in better Thin-walled structural components of various
energy absorption capability. simple geometries made of composite materials
Mahmood et al. [37] report on the bending of and subjected to axial loading were found to
composite shells with hourglass and rectangular collapse in modes considerably different than
cross-sections with the purpose of characterising those observed in metallic and thermoplastic
their crush strengths. Two types of test arrange- structures. The brittle nature of both fibres and
ment were used, i.e. three and four point resin ensures that composite materials do not
loading. The observations showed that in the undergo the plastic deformation characteristic
mode of collapse, the beams suffers more for ductile metals and PVC; see Mamalis et al.
damage in the compression zone than that in [39] for more details about the crashworthy
the tension zone. At the maximum strength the behaviour of metallic and PVC thin-walled
applied compressive stress is mainly resisted by structural components. However, the dominant
the edge of the sub-element or the corners of mechanism in the present case is that of frac-
the component. However, if the corners suffer ture and fragmentation. The failure modes
material separation, this leads to a sudden loss observed are, in general, greatly affected by the
of bending resistance in deep collapse and poor shell geometry, the arrangement of fibres, the
energy management. properties of the matrix and fibres of the com-
posite material and the stacking sequences.
Combined loading The macroscopic collapse modes of thin-
In a head-on collision the various structural walled composite shells subjected to low speed
components do not collapse in a simple, ideal axial loading may be classified as stable progres-
form but in a non-axial manner. Non-axial crush sive collapse modes associated with controlled
means that components are subject to combined crushing process, and unstable ones associated
axial and bending loads. Czaplicki et al. [38] with extensive brittle fracture. Note that, the
report an investigation of two types of non-axial whole crushing process and, therefore, the mac-
crushing, i.e. off-axis crushing and angled crush- roscopic collapse modes of the axially loaded
ing. Angle loading occurs when a vehicle composite shells greatly affect the energy
moving forward along its longitudinal axis absorbing capability of the structural compo-
impacts an object tilted away from being per- nents. Based on the experimental observations
pendicular to the vehicle’s longitudinal axis, from a very extensive experimental treatment of
whilst off-axis loading occurs when a spinning axisymmetric tubes of various geometries made
vehicle impacts an object from a direction not of fibre-reinforced polymer matrix composite
along its longitudinal axis. The disparity in materials by Mamalis et al. [1,2,5,25,26], the fol-
behaviour between angled and off-axis loading lowing main modes of failure may be identified
results from differences in the friction between and classified:
the tube and the crushing plate. Off-axis loading
involves a dynamic type of friction, whilst (i) Progressive crushing with microfragmen-
angled loading involves a static one. Further- tation of the composite material,
more, they report that significant differences associated with large amounts of crush
appeared between the E-glass/polyester pultru- energy, is designated as Mode I. Three
ded tubes crushed in these different different modes of failure were
configurations. The energy absorption for the observed: Mode Ia of failure, similar to
two types of crushing is also found to vary signi- a ‘mushrooming’ failure, is mainly
ficantly with the angle of inclination, with the characterized by progressive collapse
through the formation of continuous energy absorption is designated either as

fronds which spread outwards and Mode II or Mode III depended on the
inwards with the simultaneous develop- crack form. Mode II, see Fig. 7(d), was
ment of a number of axial splits at the observed when collapsing circular and
external fronds, see Fig. 7(a). This mode square frusta with 20-30” semi-apical
of collapse was observed when collapsing angles. In the case of collapsed circular
tubes and circular and square frusta of frusta, Mode II is characterized by the
small semi-apical angles. Mode Ib of col- development of a spiral or a longitudinal
lapse, see Fig. 7(b), is characterized by crack propagating along the shell cir-
the inversion of the shell wall inwards cumference, whilst axially collapsed
and it is associated with axially loaded square frusta are associated with the for-
circular and square frusta of larger semi- mation of longitudinal corner cracks.
apical angles. Mode Ic is characterized Mode III, designated as mid-length col-
by an outwards inversion of the shell lapse mode, is characterized by the
wall and is observed only during the formation of circumferential fracturing
axial collapse of circular frusta with a 15” of the material at a distance from the
semi-apical angle, see Fig. 7(c). Note, loaded end of the specimens approxima-
however, that it renders difficulties to tely equal to the mid-height of the shell;
initiate progresive crushing modes in catastrophic failure by cracking and
very thin- or very thick-walled shells. separation of the shell into irregular
(ii) Brittle fracture of the component result- shapes is involved, see Fig. 7(e). Tubes
ing in catastrophic failure with little and frusta with small semi-apical angles
5 cm
Fig. 7. Microscopic views of the various collapse modes of axially crushed conical shells [26,25]. (a) Mode Ia; (b) Mode
Ib; (c) Mode Ic; (d) Mode II; (e) Mode III; (f) Mode IV.
120 A. G. Mumafis et al.
and relatively small wall-thicknesses concentrations; fracture occurs only when the
undergo Mode 111fracture. fibres in the loading direction are sufficiently
(iii) Progressive folding and hinging similar overstressed to reach their fracture strength.
to the crushing behaviour of thin-walled Note, that, due to the failure mechanism
metal and plastic tubes, see Ref. [39], described above, significant strains perpendicu-
showing a very low energy absorbing lar to the fibres are attained, causing transverse
capacity is designated as Mode IV, see cracking. Note, also, that the main features of
Fig. 7(f). This mode of collapse is associ- this fracture are greatly affected by the fixture
ated with the axial loading of very thin conditions at the clamped end of the tube. If a
tubes and frusta not exceeding 15” semi- plug is inserted into the inside of the tube, full
apical angles. separation of the shell into two parts is
obtained. In cases of simple clamping, the
Furthermore, the experimentally obtained upper region bends inwards, showing deforma-
deformation modes of all specimens tested are tion characteristics similar to those observed
classified in respect to the geometry factors, when steel tubes were bent [40]; note, however,
wall-thickness/mean circumference, t/C, and that no tube separation occurs.
axial length/mean circumference, L/C. Distinct Bending of square and rectangular cross-sec-
regions, characteristic for the various deformation thin-walled tubes is reported in Ref. [32].
tion modes developed, and the transition Three distinct regions with different macro- and
boundaries from stable to unstable modes of microscopic characteristics are observed; the
collapse, are indicated thus providing useful top wall of the tube subjected to compression,
information about the collapse of the various the bottom wall subjected to tensile straining
geometries and their behaviour as an energy whilst the side walls of the tube show combined
absorber. compression/tension features. Note that the
Axial loading of various shell geometries at four corners of the rectangular tubes greatly
elevated strain-rates has been also undertaken influence the above mentioned mechanisms.
by Mamalis et al. [5,24,25]. The modes of col- The predominant failure mode is extensive
lapse observed can be classified as stable and microfracturing of the tube adjacent to the edge
unstable collapse modes; stable collapse modes of the clamping device in the compression zone;
show similar features to those obtained during this may be attributed to the maximum bending
the static loading of same geometries. moment attained there. Fracture initiates on
the top wall of the tube. Following a typical
Bending progressive failure mechanism as the hinge
The collapse modes at macroscopic scale of develops, the fracture region spreads quickly
various cross-section composite thin-walled from the axis of symmetry of the top wall
shells, such as, circular, square and rectangular towards the corners, see Fig. 8(b). As the hinge
tubes and hourglass cross-sectioned shells, sub- rotation continues, the tube sustains higher
jected to bending under certain end-clamping loads as the corners begin to crush, whilst the
conditions are reported by Mamalis et al. compressive top wall and the side walls begin to
[3,28,32]. buckle. After the maximum strength is attained
In Ref. [3] the collapse behaviour of bent the compressive top wall and the side walls fail;
circular tubes is examined; two distinct regions this finally leads to separation of the tube along
with different macroscopic characteristics were the compressive region and the side walls. Tube
observed, an upper zone subjected to compres- separation is influenced by the wall thickness,
sive loading and a lower one under tensile being more profound for thinner specimens.
straining. Note, also, that a narrow transition Similar remarks concerning the macroscopic
zone between the compression-tension regions collapse modes are also reported in Ref. [28]
with combined features was also observed. In where the bending of hourglass cross-sectioned
general, collapse initiates in the compressive shells is examined. Moreover, they report that
zone, close to the clamping device, see Fig. for bending about the major axis, failure occurs
S(a). In this region the material strength is at the top compression zone, with the bottom
mainly dominated by local fibre buckling tension zone experiencing no failure even after
stability. In the tensile region, however, damage the contact region at the loading zone is col-
initiates and propagates in zones of high stress lapsed entirely. Cracking along the middle
surface is also observed. For bending about the that the failure occurs at the top compression
minor axis, failure again occurs at the top com- zone under loading.
pression zone and the top corners are sheared,
whilst the tensile zone remains intact. No crack- (b) Microfracturing
ing is observed along the middle surface. In a very broad sense, failure of a structural
Mahmood et al. (1994), also examined the element can be stated to have taken place when
bending characteristics of various thin-walled it ceases to perform satisfactorily. Therefore,
shells, i.e. square and rectangular cross-sec- the definition of failure will change from one
tioned tubes and rail beams (hourglass application to another. In some applications a
cross-sectioned shells). Although they used very small deformation may be considered as a
three and four point loading, they report similar failure, whereas in others only total fracture or
remarks with Mamalis et al., as far as the col- separation constitutes failure. In the case of
lapse modes is concerned; the only difference is composite materials, internal material failure
(4
4 cm
6 4
Crush zone I’ Compressive

region
b = \ /Y Clamped
I -’ / ! region
--IL
Side wall
Support v_J
Fig. 8. (a) Macroscopic side view of a bent square tube [4]. (b) Configuration of bending failure mechanism of a cantilever
thin-walled tube [4].
generally initiates before any change in its mac- matrix, (ii) the matrix has a higher failure strain
roscopic appearance or behaviour is observed. than the fibre, and (iii) the matrix exhibits plas-
The internal material failure may be observed tic deformation under high stress. The
in many forms, separately or jointly, such as mechanisms that control these different crush-
breaking of the fibres, microcracking of the ing modes are a function of the mechanical
matrix, separation of fibres from the matrix in properties of the constituent materials and the
the form of debonding and/or pull-out, and structure of the specimen. In the case of trans-
separation of laminae from each other in a verse shearing, interlaminar crack growth and
laminated composite (called delamitation). The lamina bundle fracture are the crushing mech-
effect of internal damage on macroscopic anisms, whilst inter/intralaminar crack growth
material response is observed only when the and friction are the mechanisms in the lamina
frequency of internal damage is sufficiently bending crushing mode. The mechanisms that
high. control the crushing process in the local buck-
ling crushing process are plastic yielding of the
Axial loading fibre or/and the matrix. Crushing response of
Farley and Jones [lo] report that the crushing composite tubes can be a function of crushing
response of composite tubes can be classified speed provided the mechanical properties of the
into three basic modes: transverse shearing, mechanisms that control the crushing process
lamina bending and local buckling. The trans- are strain-rate sensitive.
verse shearing and lamina bending crushing Fairfull and Hull [41] report a conceptual
modes are exhibited exclusively by brittle fibre- model of the crush-zone configuration based on
reinforced composites, whilst ductile (such as an analysis concerning the microfracture mech-
Kevlar) and in some cases brittle fibre-rein- anism of thin-walled circular tubes subjected to
forced composite materials can exhibit the local static axial loading and following the progres-
buckling crushing mode similar to that exhibited sive collapse mode (Mode Ia). Similar remarks
by ductile metals. Moreover, they report that are reported by Mamalis et al. [2,6], see also
when a load is applied to the edge of the crush- Fig. 9. Furthermore, Mamalis et al. [1,5] report
ing initiator, local failure of material occurs and an extensive description of the microfracture
small inter/intralaminar cracks are formed, mechanism of square tubes and hour-glass sec-
where their length determines whether the tions axially loaded, which is similar to that
resulting crushing mode is transverse shearing, obtained for circular tubes. The main features
lamina bending or a combination of these of this microfracture mechanism are:
modes (brittle fracture). In the case of the
transverse shearing crushing mode, the lengths (1) an annular wedge of highly fragmented
material, forced down axially through the
of the interlaminar and longitudinal cracks are
shell wall;
typically less than the thickness of the laminate,
whilst the lamina bending crushing mode is (2) an intrawall microcrack which develops
ahead of the crush-zone at the apex (tip)
characterized by very long interlaminar, intra-
of the annular wedge and propagates at a
laminar and parallel-to-fibre cracks; their
rate approximating the compression rate;
lengths are greater than ten laminate thicknes-
ses. No fracturing of lamina bundles occurs. In (3) two continuous fronds (internal and/or
external) as a result of the plies delami-
the case of brittle fracturing crushing mode, the
nation in the crush zone, mainly caused
lengths of the interlaminar cracks are between
by the central bundle wedge which
one and ten laminate thicknesses.
spreads radially inwards and outwards
The local buckling crushing mode consists of
from the wall of the frustum, and
the formation of local buckles by means of
plastic deformation of the material. The post- (4) a severely strained zone (compressive-
tensile zone) which extends between the
crushing integrity of ductile fibre-reinforced
central crack and the shell wall edges
composites is a result of fibre and matrix plasti-
showing a combined tensile-compressive
city, i.e. significant deformation without
type of deformation.
fracture, and fibre splitting. Brittle fibre-rein-
forced composites exhibit the local buckling In general, the behaviour of the reinforcing
crushing mode when, (i) the interlaminar stres- fibres depends upon their orientation. Axially
ses are small relative to the strength of the aligned fibres (0”) are bent inwards or outwards,
with or without fracturing, according to their material. Fibres aligned in the hoop direction
flexibility and the constraints induced by other (90”) can only expand outwards by fracturing
fibres; their effective flexibility depends upon and inwards by either fracturing or buckling.
the fibre arrangement in the composite Delamination occurs as a result of shear and
(a) a , Fbris wedge
I Internal frond
lmm
-
(b)
Fig. 9. (a) Micrograph showing microfailures of the crushed zone of an axially loaded circular tube. (b) Configuration of
internal fracture mechanism in the crush zone of (a) [6].
tensile separation between plies. The axial lam- (2) fronds bending due to delamination
inae split into progressively thinner layers, thus between plies;
forming translaminar cracks normal to the axial splitting between fronds;
fibres direction, mainly due to fibre buckling;
finally resulting in either fibre fracture or in
Ii,’flexural damage of individual plies due to
small radius of curvature at the delami-
intralaminar shear cracking splitting the lami- nation limits;
nate into a number of thin layers without fibre (5) frictional resistance to axial sliding
fracture. Cracks propagate preferably through between adjacent laminates;
the weakest regions of the structure of the com- (6) frictional resistance to the penetration of
posite material, i.e. through resin-rich regions the debris wedge, and
or boundaries between hoop fibres, resulting in (7) frictional resistance to fronds sliding
their debonding, or through the interface across the platen.
between hoop and axial plies causing delamina-
tion. Note that, resistance to crack propagation
Bending
along the central region of the wall is obtained
Mamalis et al. [2,3] report a detailed descrip-
by the compressive stiffness of intact internal
tion of the micromechanism failure of circular
material and by the tensile strength of the outer
plies and the interply bonding. tubes subjected to bending. Two distinct
Regarding the microfracture mechanism of regions, i.e. a top compressive zone and a bot-
the circular and square frusta subjected to axial tom tensile zone, with different microscopic
loading, as far as the Mode Ia of collapse is characteristics are developed during the bend-
concerned, Mamalis et al. [27,25] reported that ing process. The main features of the regions
the experimental observations made are similar under compressive loading can be classified as:
to those obtained during the axial collapse of (i) cracking at an angle of about 45” to the tube
tubes but with some characteristic differences. axis; (ii) fracture across the fibres resulting in a
Since the circumference of the shell increases as considerably smoother surface than that under
the crushing of the frusta progresses, it is tensile loading, caused by microbuckling of
evident that the size of the wedge increases fibres in the form of a shear band across the
during crushing. With an increasing semi-apical fibres; (iii) characteristic cracking of fibres and
angle of the frustum, the position of the intra- resin as well as bending and/or buckling of lon-
wall crack moves towards the outside edge of gitudinal fibres without fracture; (iv) slipping of
the shell wall increasing, in this manner, the fibre groups of different orientation with simul-
thickness of the inner frond and simultaneously taneous microfragmentation of the region
resulting in a positioning of the annular wedge between; (v) splitting parallel to the fibres
mainly above it, see Fig. 10. On the contrary, corresponding to a low energy fracture path. On
the crack length decreases with an increasing the contrary, tube regions loaded in tension
semi-apical angle. Furthermore, Mamalis et al. exhibit complex heterogeneous damage and
[24,25] report that the microfracture mechan- failure modes including: (i) matrix cracking; (ii)
ism for the progressive collapse of circular and extensive fibre/matrix interface debonding,
square frusta subjected to dynamic loading is, in mainly for transverse fibres; (iii) delamination
general, similar to that obtained during the axial and fibre breakage, mainly of longitudinal
static collapse; the only differences encountered fibres.
are related to the shape and the position of the Mamalis et al. [28,32] describe the micro-
wedge and the microcracking development. scopic failure of bent non-circular components,
Based on the above mentioned micromechan- such as square and rectangular tubes in the first
ism, as well as on secondary failure mechanisms paper and hourglass cross-section shells in the
contributing to the overall energy absorption second one. They report that in both cases the
during collapse as suggested by Fair-full and cracking characteristics may be classified into
Hull [41] and also supported by Mamalis et al. three failure modes, i.e. flexural, delamination
[6], from the energy aborption point of view, buckling and shear mode, depending on loading
the following principal sources of energy dissi- conditions, the strained region and the cracking
pation at microscopic scale may be listed: development. In the case of the flexural mode,
the typical damage is fibre and matrix breakage
(1) Intrawall crack propagation; on either side of the laminate. Delamination
buckling, which is the dominant failure mode, is that, for regions which buckle with no delami-
characterized by a delamination crack usually nation, the damage is primarily limited to a
developed in the middle of the laminate, see small region consisting of shear bands at an
Fig. 11, whilst in failure by shear the typical angle of 45” to the beam axis.
damage is fibre and matrix breakage through Furthermore, they report that four crash
the thickness of the shell. It must be noticed regions, i.e. a top compression zone, a bottom
(d) @i
Fig. 10. (a) Configuration of failure mechanism (Mode Ia) of axially loaded circular frustum; (b)-(d) Configurations of the
crush zone (Mode Ia) through the wall thickness in frusta with semi-apical angles of 5”, lo”, 15”, respectively (cross-section
AA’ of (a)); (e) Configuration of the crush zone through the wall thickness of a 1.5”specimen following Mode Ib [29].
Fig. 11. Micrograph showing microfailures observed in the compressive zone of a bent specimen (section AA’ of
Fig. 8(a)) [6].
tensile region, side walls and regions close to Predictive techniques

the corners are formed. Failures in the top
compressive region are characterized by: (i) The destructive nature of the experimental
slipping and/or fracturing of the matrix energy absorption tests described above would
material; (ii) delamination cracks, which propa- suggest that the cost of testing may become a
gate longitudinally through the wall thickness; significant consideration in an extensive investi-
and (iii) small cracks, which develop perpen- gation. Indeed, it is almost certain that there
dicular to the longitudinal axis of symmetry. In will be financial constraints upon large-scale
the bottom tensile region the associated failure energy absorption/crashworthiness tests such as
mechanism mainly results in: (i) a ‘brush like’ those conducted using full-size vehicles. There-
appearance of pulled-out fibres and/or matrix fore, any methods which can successfully and
cracking; (ii) fibre/matrix interface debonding of relatively cheaply predict the energy absorption
transverse fibres; (iii) delamination and break- capability of composite materials are clearly
age of longitudinal fibres. In the side walls the welcome.
damage mechanism is complex leading to a
variety of microstructural defects such as: (i) (a) Failure analysis
debonding of broken fibres from the resin; (ii) Fairfull and Hull [41] report a conceptual
pull-out of broken fibres usually after the occur- model estimating the load fractions undertaken
rence of debonding; (iii) shear failure of the by the different regions of the crush zone of
resin and fibres through a kink band progress- axially loaded tubes using the results of various
ing across the specimens; (iv) cracking in the measurements, whilst Yuan and Viegelahn [42]
longitudinal direction due to transverse tensile report a model of the crushing behaviour of
failure; (v) pure shear failure by crack propaga- fibreglass tubes based on the results of various
tion through the matrix. The regions close to tests, such as tension, compression, fracture
the corners are subjected to complex straining toughness and bending.
leading to uncontrolled fracture patterns Farley and Jones [l l] describe a simplified
accompanied by severe cracking of the neigh- procedure, based on an equation similar to the
bouring areas, mainly affecting the buckling buckling load equation for a column on an elas-
behaviour of the compression zone of the tube. tic foundation, which can be used to predict
whether a change in energy absorption of a constant, on is the tensile fracture stress, a, is

composite tube occurs as a result of changes in the angle formed by the height and the external
geometry or material properties. They describe side of the wedge and a2 the angle formed by
the use of the following equation for sustained the height and the internal side of the wedge,
crushing force, P,,, see Fig. 10(b); s2 is the related shell shortening
corresponding to the completion of the wedge
formation, 0 is the semi-apical angle of the frus-
tum, L, is the crack height, d, is the frustum
(1) diameter at the crack tip, related to the position
of the crack initiation, Rad is the fracture energy
where, following the Notation, eqn (1) contains required to fracture a unit area of the adhesive
six main parameters, namely the internal tube at the interface between two adjacent layers and
dimension to wall thickness ratio, G/t, the lam- is calculated by using fracture theory, n” is the
ina bundle length, L, the number of lamina number of splits and G* the fracture toughness.
bundles, it, the bending stiffness, EI and the Similar theoretical predictions of the energy
failure strain, cC, of the lamina bundles and the absorbing capacity of other shell geometries, i.e.
foundation stiffness, I$, and the foundation circular tubes, square tubes and frusta and
failure strain, Ed The parameter N is used to hourglass sections, are reported by Mamalis et
define the general crushing mode. Lamina bun- al. [1,5,6,25].
dles that exhibit a lamina bending crushing Mamalis et al. [4] describe the deformation
mode would have a value of N between 0 and 1, mechanism of thin-walled composite tubes of
but less than the N of lamina bundles that crush non-circular cross-section subjected to canti-
in a transverse shearing mode; tubes that crush lever bending. Furthermore, they report on the
in a local buckling mode would have an N of theoretical analysis for the prediction of the
approximately equal to 1. ultimate bending strength for tubes made of
Mamalis et al. [29] report a theoretical analy- various composite materials and cross-sections.
sis of the stable collapse mechanism of the The proposed analysis provides also the
conical thin-walled shells, crushed under axial designer with the abilty to describe the M-0
static and dynamic compression, for calculating curve in the elastic regime.
the energy absorbed during collapse. The total
energy dissipated for the deformation of a cir- (b) Numerical simulation
cular frustum for a crush distance, s, is given by Farley and Jones [12] describe formulation of a
eqn (2). The analysis is based on experimental finite element model based on a phenomeno-
observations also taking into account all pos- logical approach to the crushing process in
sible energy absorbing mechanisms developed order to predict the energy absorption of alu-
during the process minium, carbon-epoxy and aramid-epoxy
w,= [l/(1 -~,+~,s*/S)]{[0.8~t~k~oo~~[d,+(s-s,) tubes. Strain energy release rate and maximum
failure strain were used as criteria for inter-
tan Bllcos @[(s - s&[(pu2( l/cos a, laminar crack growth and fracture of laminar
+l/cos a,) --y,(tan cc,+tan CC~+~.~~)] bundles. The finite element representation
employed was a one-quarter symmetric four-
+[(a,+@lcos a,]*[0.4*tl(cos cI,*cos 0)
layer model, with one layer for each ply of the
+s-s,]+[(cQ-B)lcos c(*]’ composite tube. Mathematical zero-length
[0.4.tl(cos C$cos @+s - s2]] springs were used to connect adjacent layers
and interlaminar crack growth was represented
+&.[(s-s,).7c[d,.+(s-s,)tan 8 by removal of these springs. Agreement
+rc(L,lcos @(d,+l,..tan @]+n*(t/2).G*.s} between predicted and measure energy absorp-
tion values was to within about 14%, 25% and
(2) 28% for the aluminium, aramid and carbon
where, following the Notation, ,u, is the coeffi- tubes, respectively.
cient of friction (static or dynamic) between The need for further improvement of the
frond and platen and pZ the coefficient of fric- model is acknowledged. Haug et al. [43]
tion (static or dynamic) between the wedge and describe the material models available on the
the fronds, t is the shell wall thickness, k is a finite element packages PAM-FISS and PAM-
CRASH, which appear most suited to the

modelling of composite material failure. The
use of these codes in predicting the crushing
response (including energy absorption) of
axially compressed box columns made of hybrid
carbon aramid sandwich panels is described and
the numerical model is compared with experi-
mentally obtained data. Botkin et al. [44]
describe the use of another finite element com-
posite material failure model, this time
implemented in the LS-DYNA3D software. A 4
Material
square thin-walled tube with sharp corners, a Fig. 13. Comparison of energy absorption capabilities of
square thin-walled tube with rounded corners various composite materials.
and a beam with an hourglass shaped section
were all modelled and the results were com-
pared with experimental data, see Fig. 12. The models were found to provide a reasonable
means of predicting trends in the crush per-
formance of the specimens although they did
not match the experimental curves very closely
in some instances.
Quantitive data
The energy absorption capability of a crushed

material is commonly quoted in the form of
its specific energy absorption value as defined
at the beginning. Figure 13 and Table 1 relate
some of the specific energy absorption values,
which have been quoted in the literature and
it can be seen that, in some cases, an extremely
wide range of values for a given material are
presented. However, this does not mean to
say that any values are particularly right or
wrong; it merely re-emphasizes the fact that
there are many factors which control the energy
absorption capability of composites and that
only when comparing like-with-like is it possible
to obtain a ranking of material energy absorp-
tion capabilities.
SOME PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF THE USE

OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS FOR
CRASHWORTHINESS APPLICATIONS
Scholes and Lewis [46] describe quasi-static

laboratory crush tests conducted by British Rail
Research on a full-size crashworthy railway cab
structure. Included in the cab design were
replaceable energy absorption devices consisting
of two glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) tubes,
similar to those described above, one mounted
Fig. 12. Finite element simulation of the axial collapse of at each buffer position. The tubes were
an hourglass rail beam [44]. designed to collapse axially at a constant com-
Crashworthy capability of composite material structures: A review 129
lhble 1. Comparison of material energy absorption capabilities. In most cases, the numerical data quoted in the table has been
estimated from graphical data presented in the appropriate reference
Material Specific energy absorption
kJ/kg
Thornton Thornton Thornton Farley Farley Farley Farley Farley and Hamada Mamalis
and Magee [7] and Edwards [8] [21] (151 I311 Jones et al. et al.
[451 u41 [I31 [I71 133,341
CdlOIl-
EPOXY
[O/k 151 99
(f/D = 0.033) ;t;D = 0.045)
CUbOIl-
Epoxy
[O/&451 46 55 65
(t/D = 0.032) (l/D = 0.051) (t/D= 0.020)
Carbon-
Epoxy
[+451 55 55 58 50 60 53
(t/D -0.062) (t/D = 0.036) (t/D = 0.048) (r/D = 0.021) (tiDzO.031) (t/D= 0.05)
Carbon
Fibre-
PEEK
[Ol 180
(t/D= 0.050)
Carbon
Fibre-
PEEK
[&301 127
(t/D = 0.05)
Aramid-
EPOXY
[O/k 151 31 9
(t/D = 0.036) (t/D = 0.020)
Aramid-
EPOXY
[o/+45] 30 21
(t/D = 0.033) (t/D = 0.022)
Aramid-
Epoxy
[5451 60 31 33 23 22
(t/D = 0.066) (t/D z 0.042) (t/D = 0.035) (r/D = 0.022) (r/D ~0.030)
Aramid-
Epoxy
[O/ + 901 50
(t/D = 0.033)
GILISS-
Epoxy
[O/k 151 30
(t/D = 0.060)
Epoxy
[o/+45] 30 31
(t/D ~0.028) (t/D = 0.059)
Glass-
Epoxy
[Oi + 751 53
(r/D = 0.070)
Glass-
Vinylester
[90/0/2Rc/2Rcl 54
0/0/9O/Rc.7S] (t/n = 0.05)
Glass-
Polyester
WI,, 54
(t/D = 0.162)
Aluminium
6061 75 72
(t/D = 0.060) (f/D = 0.060) ;r!D = 0.057)
1015
Mild 33 33
Steel
(t/D = 0.060) (t/D = 0.060)
bined load of 800 kN, but in the tests crushing of course other factors which should be taken
actually commenced at 5% above this value. into account when seriously considering the
Furthermore, the subsequent failure of the large scale use of composite materials. Tong
tubes did not meet the specified requirements, [49] and Johnson [50] both highlight the import-
with the absorbed energy being less than half ance of fire hazard and toxication in the event
that required. This was attributed to gross shear of a serious crash and Noton [51] lists the
failure of the matrix causing the tubes to break necessity for fire-retardant additives as a poten-
into large pieces rather than delaminate. tial disadvantage of the use of glass-reinforced
Scholes and Lewis also report on full-scale plastics for rail transportation applications.
dynamic collision tests conducted by the Office However, Ref. [52] describes railway rolling
for Research and Experiments (ORE), the stocks increasingly widespread use of glass fibre
research arm of the International Union of reinforced phenolic mouldings, which possess
Railways (UIC). These tests also included GRP excellent fire resistance, smoke emission and
tubes mounted in the buffer positions, although toxicity characteristics. Furthermore, Suzuki and
again they failed to work properly. They also Satoh [53] discuss the potential of lightweight
actually failed at a force in excess of their rail vehicle body shell panels made from a car-
design value by which time other elements of bon fibre reinforced plastic with a phenol resin.
the cab structure had already collapsed. Scholes This material, certified as non flammable, was
and Lewis make the obvious point that it is shown to out-perform aluminium at high tem-
clearly undesirable for the cab structure to fail peratures in bending stress-deformation tests.
before the sacrificial energy absorbers which are As well as enviromental damage due to the
there to protect it. effect of high temperature, Thornton and
Lin and Mase [47] discuss some of the practi- Jeryan [54] note that a reduction in perform-
cal aspects of introducing energy absorption ance can also arise from water absorption. The
devices into vehicles. They conclude that simple combination of high temperature and high
devices such as honeycombs or axially crushed humidity is known to be particularly detri-
tubes are more effective as add-on energy mental in reducing tensile stress and fatigue
absorption devices than more complicated strength, although little information appears to
methods, such as inversion tubes and the foam be known about their effect on energy absorp-
filling of primary structural members. Further- tion capability.
more, using a vehicle impact simulation, they Finally, the issue of cost should not be
show that it is theoretically possible to absorb avoided. However, the fabrication of composites
extra crush energy without increasing the crush allows for many variants and so it is extremely
distance and passenger car deformation by difficult to obtain easily comparable, up-to-date
inserting such energy absorption devices in unu- information. On a basic material property level,
tilized space along existing load paths. However, Ref. [55] gives approximate order of magnitude
they do acknowledge that other design aspects, cost data for a wide range of material types.
such as interference with vehicle function, The relevant information has been extracted
vehicle servicing and, of special importance, and is presented in Table 2. Reference [55]
directionality of the devices must be taken into does not contain cost data for aramid-epoxy
account.
O’Rourke [48] and Savage [36] both describe Table 2. Cost per unit weight of composite and other
materials
the enormously successful use of composites,
particularly from the point of view of crashwor- Material cost
(USD/Kg)
thiness, in Formula One racing cars. Whilst it
should be realized that cost is a much less pro- Carbon fibre-epoxy, 60-13.5
unidirectional
hibitive factor in such vehicles than in more Carbon fibre-epoxy, 52-120
conventional vehicle development, this should laminate
not mean there will not be a transfer of tech- Glass fibre-epoxy, 5.3-10.5
nology and experience from this arena to more unidirectional
Glass fibre-epoxy, 2-4.5
cost-sensitive vehicle applications. laminate
Whilst crash energy management is one of Aluminium alloys 1.4-1.7
the primary design requirements that the front- Carbon steel 0.4-0.9
Stainless steel 2.7-3.2
end structure of a vehicle must meet, there are
composites. However, Ashby [56] includes ticularly the use of these components as energy
material property data presented in the same absorbing devices has led many researchers to
way as in Ref. [55], places its cost somewhere deal with the crashworthy ability of composite
between that of carbon-epoxy and glass-epoxy material structures. Many parameters which
composites. An estimated cost of lo-70 USD/kg affect the energy absorption capability of thin-
may not be unreasonable. However, the follow- walled shells with simple cross-sectioned
ing point must be emphasized when the geometry were examined by extensive experi-
parameter cost is considered. There is a funda- mental work in laboratories using various
mental difference in the strategy of application testing methods, such as axial loading, bending
of composites between the aerospace industry and combined loading. Furthermore, an effort
and the automobile industry; this is primarily was made in the theoretical estimation of the
due to the volume requirements of the two energy dissipated for the deformation of the
businesses. In aerospace and defence, the shells during the crushing process. The follow-
design of the structure is optimized to provide ing concluding remarks may be drawn:
the required functionality and performance, and
the manufacturing process (and the associated (4 Carbon-epoxy shells generally absorb
cost) is subsequently selected on the basis that more energy than glass-epoq or aramid
the process is capable of achieving the desired epoxy specimens. The specific energy of
design. In direct contrast, in high-volume pro- polyester fibreglass composite materials
duction industries such as the automotive underestimate the corresponding one of
industry, the rate of manufacture is critical in glass-epoxy materials. Composite
satisfying the economics of this consumer materials made of new matrix (PEEK)
industry. Thus, manufacturing processes which and carbon fibres give a very high value
are capable of satisfying production output are of specific energy (double that of car-
the primary consideration, and design of a com- bon-epoxy).
ponent or structure must be within the (b) Specific energy tends to vary with ply
boundary constraints of the selected fabrication orientation. An angle of 45” seems to be
process. a critical ply orientation in the construc-
However, care should be exercised when tion of a laminate as far as the energy
comparing the costs of different materials for a absorbing capability is concerned.
certain application. For example, although the (c) In general, specific energy absorption of
cost in USD/kg of aluminium and composites various composite materials decreases
exceeds that of the carbon steels, the lower with increasing temperature above about
density of the former means that less material 0°C.
may be needed in a given instance. Further- w Specimen geometry has a strong effect
more, these figures are given for the material in on the energy absorbing capability of
an unfinished state. Additional processing will composite shells; corners have a negative
add to the price of the final product. Indeed, influence on it. In general, circular tubes
McCarty [57] suggests (in the context of the and conical shells with small semi-apical
commercial aircraft industry) that the difference angles appear to show better crash-
between ‘in the door’ and ‘out the door’ costs of worthiness than the other ones. The
composites in a given application may well be hourglass cross-sectioned shells also
considerably less than those of aluminium. As allow for a high specific energy absorp-
an alternative comparison, Frame [58] estimates tion.
that aircraft specification carbon composites 69 The energy absorbed by tulip triggered
cost about 15 times more than conventional alu- specimens show significantly higher
minium alloys. crashworthy behaviour than the bevel
triggered ones of same geometry and
materials.
CONCLUDING REMARKS (f) Crushing speed affects the energy
absorption capability of axialy loaded
The use of thin-walled structural components shells but the increase or the decrease of
made of composite materials in a wide range of the specific energy depends on the
applications in vehicle industries and more par- material properties.
The progressive crushing mode (Mode I) 2. Mama&, A. G., Manolakos, D. E. and Viegelahn, G.
(g)
L., Crashworthy behaviour of thin-walled tubes of
of axially loaded specimens consitutes fibreglass composite material subjected to axial load-
the most efficient mode of energy ing. J. Comp. Mats, 24 (1990) 72.
absorption. 3. Mamalis, A. G., Manolakos, D. E., Viegelahn, G. L.
The end-clamping conditions in bending and Baldoukas, A. K., Bending of fibre-reinforced
(h) composite thin-walled tubes. Composites, 21, (1990)
tests affect the crashworthy ability of the 431.
specimens. Furthermore, shell geometry 4. Mamahs, A. G., Manolakos, D. E., Demosthenous, G.
has effect on their crush behaviour and, A. and Ioannidis, M. B, The deformation mechanism
of thin-walled non-circular composite tubes subjected
therefore, on the energy absorbing cap- to bending. Comp. Struct. 30 (1995) 131.
ability. Bending over the strong axis of 5. Mamalis, A. G., Manolakos, D. E., Demosthenous, G.
non-circular shells results in higher A. and Ioannidis, M. B., The static and dynamic axial
strength and better crashworthy charac- crumbling of thin-walled fibreglass composite square
tubes. Composites Part B, 6 (1997).
teristics than does bending over the 6. Mamalis, A. G., Manolakos, D. E., Demosthenous, G.
weak axis. A. and Ioannidis, M. B, Analysis of failure mechan-
The detailed microscopic observation at isms observed in axial collapse of thin walled circular
(i>
fibreglass composite tubes. Thin- Walled Structures, 24
the crushed areas of the tested speci-
(1996) 335.
mens leads to a more reliable 7. Thornton, P. H., Energy absorption in composite
description and, moreover, the model- structures. J. Comp. Mats 1979, 13, 247
ling of the microfracture mechanism of 8. Farley, G. L., Energy absorption of composite
materials. 1 Comp. Mats 1983, 17, 167
the thin-walled shells made of composite 9. Schmueser, D. W. and Wickliffe, L. E., Impact energy
materials and subjected to axial loading absorption of continuous fiber composite tubes. J.
and bending. Eng. Mat. Trans. ASME 1987, 72,72
10. Farley, G. L. and Jones, R. M., Crushing character-
W Even though the modelling of real struc-
istics of continuous fibre-reinforced composite tubes.
tures made of composite materials and J. Comp. Mats, 26 (1992) 37.
subjected to combined loading is 11. Farley, G. L. and Jones, R. M., Analogy for the effect
extremely difficult, the predictive tech- of material and geometrical variables on energy
absorption capability of composite tubes. J. Comp.
niques proposed (failure analysis and Mats, 26 (1992) 78.
numerical simulation) for the estimation 12. Farley, G. L. and Jones, R. M., Prediction of the
of the energy absorption capabilty of energy absorption capability of composite types. J.
Comp. Mats, 26 (1992) 388.
axially loaded and bent shells with
13. Farley, G. L. and Jones, R. M., Crushing character-
simple cross-sectioned geometries, pro- istics of composite tubes with ‘near-elliptical’ cross
vide the crashworthiness researchers sections. J. Comp. Mats, 26 (1992) 1252.
with valuable tools of design. 14. Thornton, P.H. and Edwards, P.J., Energy absorption
in composite tubes. J. Comp. Mats 1982, 16,521
(k) Due to the improved properties of the 15. Farley, G. L., Effect of fibre and matrix maximum
fibre-reinforced plastic composite strain rate on the energy absorption of composite
materials, ranging from weight reduction materials. J. Comp. Mats, 20 (1986) 322.
to increased strength and durability 16. PE fibre reinforcement prevents crush. News article in
British Plastics and Rubber, January, 1990, 10.
features, the automotive and aircraft 17. Hamada, H., Coppola, J.C., Hull, D., Maekawa, Z.
industries were enabled to use them in a and Sato, H., Comparison of energy absorption of
wide range of crashworthiness applica- carbon-epoxy and carbon-PEEK composite tubes.
Composites 1992, 23, 245
tions as primary and/or secondary mem-
18. Gosnell, R. B., Thermoplastic resins. Engineered
bers for energy absorption. However, the Materials Handbook, Vol. I - Composite, ASM Inter-
parameter of the composite material national, 1987, 97.
cost and the manufacturing require- 19. Nilson, S., Polyetheretherketone matrix resins and
composites. International Encyclopaedia of Composites,
ments affect the finally decision in the VCH Publishers Inc, Vol. 6, 1991, 282
selection of the more suitable material 20. Kindervater, C. M., Energy absorption of composites
in the related industrial applications. as an aspect of aircraft structural crash resistance.
Developments in the Science and Technology of Compo-
site Materials, 1990, 643.
21. Farley, G. L., Effect of specimen geometry on the
REFERENCES energy absorption of composite materials. J. Comp.
Mats, 20, 390 (1986).
1. Mamalis, A. G., Manolakos, D. E., Demosthenous, G. 22. Mamalis, A. G., Yuan, Y. B. and Viegelahn, G. L.,
A. and Ioannidis, M. B., The static and dynamic col- Collapse of thin-wall composite sections subjected to
lapse of fibreglass composite automotive frame rails. high speed axial loading. Int. J. Vehicle Design, 13
Comp. Struct., 34 (1996) 77. (1992) 564.
Crashworthy capability of composite material structures: A review 133
23. Czaplicki, M.J., Robertson, R.E. and Thorton, P.H., ing. Proc. Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C,
Comparison of bevel and tulip triggered pultruded Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science, 203 (1989)
tubes for energy absorption. Composites Science and 411.
Technology 1991,40,31 41. Fairfull, A. H. and Hull, D., Energy absorption of
24. Mamalis, A. G., Manolakos, D. E., Demosthenous, G. polymer matrix composite structures: Friction effects.
A. and Ioannidis, M. B., Axial collapse of thin-walled Structural Failure for International Symposium on
fibreglass composite tubular components at elevated Structural Failure, MIT, 1988, 255.
strain rates. Comp. Engng, 3 (1994) 653. 42. Yuan, Y. B. and Viegelahn, G. L., Modelling of
25. Mamalis, A. G., Manolakos, D. E., Demosthenous, G. crushing behaviour fibreglasshrinylester tubes. Proc.
A. and Ioannidis, M. B., Energy absorption capability 22nd Midwestern Mechanics Conference, Rolla, Mis-
of fibreglass composite square frusta subjected to souri, USA, Developments in Mechanics, 16, 1991,
static and dynamic axial collapse. Thin-Walled Struc- 490.
tures, 25 (1996) 269. 43. Haug, E., Fort, 0. and Tramecon, A., Numerical
26. Mamalis, A. G., Manolakos, D. E. and Viegelahn, G. crashworthiness simulation of automotive structures
L., Demosthenous, G. A. and Yap, S. M., On the axial and components made of continuous fiber reinforced
crumpling of fibre-reinforced composite thin walled composite and sandwich assemblies. Technical Paper
conical shells. ht. .J. I/chicle Design, 12 (1991) 450. Series, SAE 1991, 910152, 245
27. Mamalis, A. G., Manolakos, D. E. and Viegelahn, G. 44. Botkin, M. E., Johnson, N. L., Halloquist, J. O., Lum,
L., Yap, S. M. and Demosthenous, G. A., Microscopic L. C. K. and Matzemiller, A., Numerical simulation of
failure of thin-walled fibre reinforced composite frusta post-failure dynamic crushing of composite tubes.
under static axial collapse. ht. .I. Vehicle Design, 12 Second International LS-DYNA3D Conference, San
(1991) 557. Francisco, USA, 1994.
28. Mamalis, A. G., Manolakos, D. E., Demosthenous, G. 45. Thornton, P. H. and Magee, C. L., The interplay of
A. and Ioannidis, M. B, On the bending of automo- geometric and materials variables in energy absorp-
tive fibre-reinforced composite thin-walled structures. tion. J. Engng Mats and Tech. (Trans. ASME) 1977, 99,
Composites, 25 (1994) 47. 114
29. Mamalis, A. G., Manolakos, D. E., Demosthenous, G. 46 Scholes, A. and Lewis, J. H., Development of crash-
A. and Ioannidis, M. B., Modelling of the static and worthiness for railway vehicle structures. Proc. Znstn.
dynamic axial collpase of thin-walled fibreglass com- Mech. Engrs., Part F, No. Fl, 207, 1993, 1.
posite conical shells. Znt. J. Impact Engng (to be 47. Lin, K. H. and Mase, G. T., An assesment of add-on
published). energy absorption devices for vehicle crashworthiness.
30. Mamalis, A. G., Manolakos, D. E., Demosthenous, G.
J. Engng Mats and Tech. (Trans. ASME) 1990,112,406
A. and Ioannidis, M. B., Analytical and experimental 48. O’Rourke, B. P., The uses of composite materials in
approach to damage and residual strength of fibre-
the design and manufacture of Formula 1 racing cars.
glass composite automotive frame rails during
Proc. Instn. Mech. Engrs. Conference. Design in Com-
manufacturing. Eighth International Conference on
posite Materials, 1989, 39.
Composite Structures, Paisley, Scotland, 1995, 325.
49. Tong, P., Rail vehicle structural crashworthiness.
31. Farley, G. L., The effect of crushing speed on the
Chapter 14 of Structural Crashworthiness, Butter-
energy-absorption capability of composite tubes. J.
worths, 1983, 397.
Comp. Mats 1991,25, 1314
50. Johnson, W., The elements of crashworthiness: Scope
32. Mamalis, A. G., Manolakos, D. E. and Demosthe-
nous, G. A., Crushing behaviour of thin-walled and actuality. Proc. Instn. Mech. Engrs. 1990, 204,
(D4), 255
non-circular fibreglass composite tubular components
due to bending. Composites, 23 (1992) 425. 51. Noton, B. R., Rail transportation. Chapter 5 of Com-
posite Materials Engineering Applications of
33. Kirch, P. A. and Jannie, H. A., Energy absorption of
glass polyester structures. Technical Paper Series, SAE Composites, Academic Press, Vol. 3, 1974, 163.
1981,810233,220 52. Brown, D. E., Choice of materials and form of con-
34. Berry, J. and Hull, D., Effect of speed on progressive struction of passenger vehicles. Proceedings of the
crushing of epoxy glass cloth tubes. Third Int. Conf Eleventh Railway Industry Association Motive Power
Mech. Prop. High Rates of Strain, Oxford, 1984, 463 Course, RP3/21(1), 1994
35. Thornton, P. H., The crush behaviour of pultruted 53. Suzuki, Y. and Satoh, K., High speed trains and com-
tubes at high strain rates. J. Comp. Mats 1990, 24, 594 posite material. SAMPE Journal, September/October,
36. Savage, G., Safety and survivability in Formula One 1995, 18
motor racing. Metals and Materials, March, 1992, 147. 54. Thornton, P. H. and Jeryan, R. A., Crash energy man-
37. Mahmood, H. F., Jeryan, R. A. and Zhou, J., Crush agment in composite automotive structures. Znt. J.
strength characteristics of composite structures. Struc- Impact Engng 1988,7,167
tural Composites (Design and Processing Technologies), 55. The Cambridge Materials Selector Version 2.0. Soft-
Proceedings of the Sixth Annual ASMfESD Advanced ware package running on an IBM compatible PC,
Composite Conference, Detroit, Michingan, USA, Granta Design Limited, 1994.
1990, 1. 56. Ashby, M. F., Materials selection in mechanical design.
38. Czaplicki, M. J., Robertson, R. E. and Thorton, P. H., Pergamon Press, 1992,48.
Non-axial crushing of E-glass/polyester pultruded 57. McCarty, J. E., Design and cost viability of compo-
tubes. J. Comp. Mats 1990, 24, 1077 sites in commercial aircraft. Composites 1993, 24, 361
39. Mamalis, A. G., Manolakos, D. E. and Viegelahn, G. 58. Frame, T. S., Introduction to composite materials.
L., Deformation characteristics of crashworthy com- Proc. Instn Mech. Engrs. Conference, Design in compo-
ponents. Fortschritt-Berichte der VDI-Z, Reihe 18, Nr. site materials, 1989, 1.
62, Dusseldorf, Germany, 1989, 337. 59. Goldsmith, W. and Sackman, J. L., Energy absorption
40. Mamalis, A. G., Manolakos, D. E., Baldoukas, A. K. by sandwich plates: A topic in crashworthiness. Crash-
and Viegelahn, G. L., Deformation characteristics of worthiness and Occupant Protection in Transportation
crashworthy thin-walled steel tubes subjected to bend- Systems ASME AMD 1991, 126, 1
A. G. Mumalis et al.
60. Hull, D., Energy absorption of composite materials Wlosinski, R. K. and Mamalis, A. G., Crashworthiness
under crash conditions. Progress in Science and characteristics of composite tubes in bending. Proc.
Engineering of Composites, (Eds Hayashi, T., Kawata, 7th Annual ASMIESD Advanced Composites Confer-
K. and Umekawa, S.), Proc. ICCM-IV, Tokyo, 1982, ence, Advanced Composite Materials: New
861. Developments and Applications, Detroit, USA, 1991,
61. Viegelahn, G. L., Johnson, D. J., Wlosinski, R. K. and 481.
Mamalis, A. G., Crashworthy characteristics of thin- 63. Yuan, Y. B., Viegelahn, G. L. and Mamalis, A. G.,
walled tubes in bending. Proc. 22nd Midwestern Crushing characteristics of composite sections subject
Mechanics Conference, Rolla, Missouri, USA, to high speed loading. Proc. 22nd Midwestern Mech-
Developments in Mechanics, 16 (1991) 470. anics Conference, Rolla, Missouri, USA,
62. Viegelahn, G. L., Gorrepati, K. M., Johnson, D. J., Developments in Mechanics, 16, 1991, 468.

mamalis1997

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

mamalis1997

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

mamalis1997

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Composite Structures 37 (1997) 109-134

0 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd

Crashworthy capability of composite material

Considerable research interest has been directed towards the use of

NOTATION Lc length of central crack

failure strain event of a collision. Generally, the total energy

ENERGY ABSORPTION CAPABILITY appears to affect the loading stability, as well as

Fig. 2. Bending moment/angle of rotation characteristics L/ ,

tion. Mamalis et al. [2] in an investigation

-.- -.-._.-.-._ I-.- -._._ _ _._ _.wWeakaxis

glass fibre/vinylester composite material has Energy absorption dependence on crushing

the crashworhiness results during dynamic axial Bending

through the formation of continuous energy absorption is designated either as

Crush zone I’ Compressive

(a) a , Fbris wedge

tensile region, side walls and regions close to Predictive techniques

whether a change in energy absorption of a constant, on is the tensile fracture stress, a, is

CRASH, which appear most suited to the

The energy absorption capability of a crushed

SOME PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF THE USE

Scholes and Lewis [46] describe quasi-static

You might also like